Colin Meloy: June Hymn

I’m usually not someone who gets fixed on lyrics. Usually the letters of the notes come first to me, before the words to the song. But as I started listening a bit more to the lyrics, I found myself liking the words and notes in equal measure.

I’m particularly fond of these lines:

A barony of ivy in the trees
Expanding out its empire by degrees
And all the branches burst to bloom
In the boom
Heaven sent this cardinal maroon
To decorate our living room

On Monday, I had this thing on constant loop. There were several moments, as the sun was coming in through the window at work, where I wanted to push away from my desk… go out and buy an acoustic guitar… and spend the remainder of the day learning how to play and sing this song.

Usually, these impulses fade pretty quickly… but I have this small itch to sing again. And with this tune stuck in my head, singing it out loud with a guitar seems like the next thing that needs to happen.

I’ve been listening to this song during my commutes as well, slowly trying to memorize the words. One of these days, I’m going to just start belting it out in the shower.